I have learned today, that the U.S. government more than $30 BILLION DOLLARS annually to fund research by the N.I.H. (National Institute of Health) to develop new drugs. This is nearly as much as the $40 Billion spent by ALL Pharmaceutical companies to do the same. It is approximately HALF of what those same drug companies spend ADVERTISING AND MARKETING THOSE DRUGS!! Who do you think PAYS for the constant stream of television ads to provote Viagra??.... You and I. The most disgusting part of this scenario is that these drug-manufacturers almost ALWAYS use this Federally-funded research to secure their own patents on new drugs... sometimes by conducting "clinical-trials", and sometimes by "inventing" a similar "copy-cat"-drug. In effect, we pay BILLIONS of dollars to develop new drugs, the F.D.A. then allows the drug-companies to monopolize them, patent them, and set their own prices for them! At the same time, the recently-passed Republican "Drug-Bill" has DENIED Medicare, local & and state governments from "negotiating" prices with these pharmaceutical companies! Their "enlightened" approach to soaring drug costs was to perform a new "shell-game"... a confusing array of "prescription-drug-discount-cards";. Most of which are about as useless as the "coupons" that can be clipped from your "junk-mail"...(Keep in mind, that the second-largest-contributor to the Bush campaign WAS DRUG COMPANIES AND THEIR LOBBYISTS AND "P.A.C.s")..On another note, a friend of mine sent me the "War-cry" of the "Lefties" who are OBVIOUSLY conspiring to impune Tom Delay... 'SEND THE "HAMMER" TO THE "SLAMMER"!!!........Right-On! I havea new slogan for potential "bumper-sticker" enthusiasts..... "DEMAND "INTELLIGENT-DESIGN" ....... IN THE WHITE HOUSE!!!"........Again, I ask... Why is Bush attempting to place Harriet Miers in the Supreme Court???... Let's subpoena her to testify for the Grand Jury investigating Karl Rove and Dick Cheney's TREASON!!! Who else would have "intimate-knowledge" of any conspiracy to discredit Valerie Plame, but the CHIEF WHITE HOUSE COUNCIL???.........Be mad, be VERY MAD!!
- posted by Dave @ 2:33 PM